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Gov. Hickenlooper to appeal Lobato education-funding decision to state Supreme Court; state board of education delays its own decision

By Karen Augé and Kurtis LeeThe Denver Post

Posted:
12/21/2011 10:34:41 AM MST

Updated:
12/21/2011 03:55:03 PM MST

Christian Gebhardt, 10, of Greeley, holds up a sign showing the amount per student in 2009. He and other students demonstrated the current levels of Colorado per-pupil school funding with a human graph on the Capitol steps. (Helen H. Richardson, Denver Post file photo)

Gov. John Hickenlooper said Wednesday that after a close review a Denver District Court judge's decision in Lobato v. Colorado case that he would appeal the decision to the state's highest court.

"The judge's decision provided little practical guidance on how the state should fund a 'thorough and uniform' system of public education," Hickenlooper said in a statement. "Moreover, while the judge focused on the inadequacy of state funding, she did not reconcile this issue with other very relevant provisions of the Constitution, including the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, the Gallagher Amendment and Amendment 23."

Kathy Gebhardt, one of the lead attorneys who brought the suit, said she was disappointed but not surprised at the governor's decisoin.

"We believe we have proved there is a sense of urgency to fixing this problem, that kids have been attending substandard schools," Gebhardt said.

The state board of education, meanwhile, postponed its own decision on pursuing an appeal until next week.

After convening by phone in an hour-long executive session, Chairman Bob Schaffer announced the board would not make a decision until Dec. 27. He did not offer any reason for the delay.

Both the governor and the state board of education are defendants in the case, so both can weigh in with direction, said Mike Saccone, spokesman for the attorney general's office.

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Saccone said the legislature has appropriated up to $3.5 million to defend the state against the suit.

The suit was filed in 2005. It originated with a group of parents in the San Luis Valley but expanded to include districts from across the state.

The judge's ruling earlier this month blasted the state's level of school funding as "unconscionable" and not meeting the Colorado Constitution's requirement of a "thorough and uniform" public education system.

The ruling handed the problem off to lawmakers to fix, and the judge said implementing her ruling would be delayed until the end of the 2012 legislative session.

In his statement today, Hickenlooper said he consulted with Attorney General John Suthers in reaching his decision.

"We look forward to a swift decision in this case so the people of Colorado and their elected representatives can participate in the school funding conversation," Hickenlooper said.

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